


Jynxed Luck

by seasonofthegeek



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Death, Dimension Travel, Double Plagg, Double Tikki, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love Triangle, Original Character(s), Post Reveal, love square, new powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-02 16:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10222964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonofthegeek/pseuds/seasonofthegeek
Summary: Master Fu sends Adrien and Marinette to another dimension to recover a relic that will unlock more of their Miraculous powers. While it has been a few months since their revealed identities, neither has been comfortable enough to really talk about it. When they meet up with the Ladybug and Black Cat holders in another dimension, Adrien and Marinette are forced to step back and take a look at what they have become to the world and each other.





	1. One Park Bench

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea bouncing around my head for a while so I decided to try to finally make it a reality. This is my first piece of fan fiction (my first attempt at writing in a ridiculous number of years) so it may take a minute to get into the swing of things. I hope you enjoy it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> March 31, 2017: I'm going back through this story and do some editing to flesh a few things out. I wasn't completely happy when I went back to reread it and I left it on a cliffhanger before I moved on to another story, so I wanted to come back and finish this one. So if you read this story before, it may be a bit different this time around.

“Oh.”

Marinette glanced at Adrien before returning her attention to the peaceful park scene before them. The shrinking portal shimmered behind them, Master Fu's den becoming harder and harder to make out. 

“I guess I was just expecting something…”

“Else?” Marinette supplied. “Me too. This all seems so…”

“Normal and much less apocalypse-y than I was picturing." Adrien turned to a faded wooden sign on a tree to his left. “McKinley Grove Park. This is the place,” he nodded to himself. 

“I wonder where Ladybug and Chat Noir are…or whatever they call themselves here.” Marinette looked around the line of trees along the path they had stepped onto. “Maybe time runs differently in this dimension and we are super early?”

“Or maybe late?” Tikki’s high voice offered from Marinette’s bag. She poked her head out to take in their surroundings. “The last time my holder traveled dimensions, we were on our own for almost a week before we made contact.”

“A weeeeek?!” Plagg whined, zipping out of Adrien’s pocket. “How are we supposed to make it a week in a strange dimension without cheese?”

Adrien plucked Plagg out of the air and held him close. “Be careful! We don’t know who could be watching. Anyway, we have a little food packed just in case. Maybe we should just stay here for a while and wait. What do you think, My Lady?”

Marinette flushed a bit at the title. While she and Adrien had known about their alter egos for a few months now due to Master Fu’s insistence, it still caught her off guard when Chat bled through while she was with Adrien. She wondered if she ever did anything Ladybug-like in civilian form.

The reveal had been awkward and exciting and terrifying. Chat Noir had gone first, of course. He had wanted to know her identity almost since the beginning and jumped at the chance when Master Fu began to insist that it was crucial for them to know each other for “what may come in the future”. Marinette loathed when Master Fu brought up “what may come”. For Marinette, that phrase always meant that what may come is a load of anxiety, stressful situations, and most likely a no good, very bad day.

When Chat Noir had melted away in a flash of green light and Adrien Agreste stood in the middle of Master Fu’s den with a shy smile on his face, Marinette all but dropped into a heap on the floor. How was this possible?! Hadn’t she been with Adrien and Chat at the same time at some point? Was this a joke? So flustered by Adrien’s sudden appearance, Ladybug’s transformation fell away to leave a red-faced and stuttering Marinette.

The awkwardness had subsided after a few days and Ladybug and Chat Noir fell back into their regular if not entirely yet comfortable give and take. Adrien and Marinette were still taking it day-by-day. Marinette was finding it easier to talk to Adrien like the actual human being he was as opposed to the superhuman angel she had originally pictured him as, but every once in a while he would look at her in a way that would make her heart flip and her words stutter.

“My La…Marinette?”

Marinette shook the memories free and smiled at her partner, earning a relieved look in return. “Seems like as good a plan as any. At least the weather is nice.”

The pair moved to a bench a little down the trail. The portal they had stepped through had melted back into the trees until Marinette couldn’t tell where it had been. One moment they were In Master Fu’s den and the next they were walking through an opening in the wall to a beautiful city park with benches and swing sets along a walking trail…a beautiful park with a surprising lack of people. In fact, from her viewpoint, it looked as if she and Adrien literally had the park to themselves, and that was less comforting than she hoped. 

Marinette had fought the trip with all her might at first. Hawkmoth had become a less than regular threat, only sending out an akuma once every couple of months almost as if he only wanted to remind them he was still there. Marinette didn’t think it was wise to take Ladybug and Chat Noir completely out of the equation for an indefinite amount of time though. Master Fu assured her that their new team members were more than capable of keeping on eye on Paris and this was a very important assignment. 

Marinette had even tried to claim that she couldn’t go because her teammates (which she still wasn’t entirely okay with, to be quite honest) couldn’t cleanse an akuma. Master Fu laughed and his eyes twinkled when he held up a clear jar with a glowing lid. 

“Any little akumas will hold until you get back. There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.”

Marinette didn’t exactly understand but she knew she wouldn’t win the fight when old Chinese proverbs started being thrown around. With Adrien’s expertise, she created the ruse that she had been accepted into a summer internship with a fashion design company in the United States and could possibly be gone for up to three months if the program went well. Her parents had been so proud that it broke her heart a little. Alya had hugged her neck tightly before scolding her for not telling her best friend about applying to the program. There were tears and promises and suddenly Marinette was being dropped off at the airport. She went through the motions of going through security until she was sure her parents and Alya were gone and then she took her empty suitcases and her one filled backpack and escaped to Master Fu’s. 

Tikki had explained what a rare opportunity it was for a Miraculous holder to visit another dimension. She had only done it twice before in more than 5,000 years, but apparently Plagg’s holders had gone a few more times for some reason or another. When Marinette prodded Tikki to explain why Black Cats were travelling dimensions without their Ladybugs, Tikki seemed to disappear behind her big blue eyes, a sad frown gracing her red face. “They all had different reasons, I suppose,” was all she would say.

Apparently this dimension they were currently residing in was the supposed host of a relic of some kind that could unlock unknown powers hidden within the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous. Master Fu explained that the Ladybug holder had reached out to him requesting help. The villain of the piece, some being known only as Deaus, had turned their home into an apocalyptic wasteland scouring for the relic and it needed to be found before he was able to harness it. 

When it came to meeting another set of Ladybug and Black Cat holders, the pair fell into default settings. Marinette was hesitant and Adrien was excited.

“I wonder if he will have the same weapon and powers,” Adrien mused for the umpteenth time as he picked apart a leaf that had drifted down to the bench. “Maybe he has something cooler like a lightsaber. A catsaber…”

Marinette giggled. Before the reveal, she had never realized what a huge geek Adrien actually was. It made more sense though when she thought of it. Chat Noir could be dorky at the best of times. She felt confident that if he had his say in his costume, he would be decked out more like an anime hero and his hair would be even more over the top.

“Would he really need Cataclysm and a lightsaber? Seems like a bit of overkill.”

“He might not have Cataclysm. He might have…hmmm…I don’t know, something different and claw-some.”

“But destructive.”

Adrien nodded absently, still trying to think of a good destructive power. “Or maybe if not a catsaber, maybe a rapi-urrr.”

“I bet Ladybug has a big hammer,” Marinette grinned.

“Why?” Adrien laughed. 

“So she can beat silly kitty cats who use too many puns.”

Adrien threw a hand to his heart, leaning closer. “You wound me, Bugaboo.”

“I think you’ll survive, Chaton,” Marinette played along, putting a finger to his nose to push him back.

“Would you two get a room already?” Plagg muttered from his pocket nest.

“Plagg!” Tikki scolded. “Leave them alone. I think they’re cute.”

Adrien’s cheeks went pink and Marinette looked away quickly. It was like walking a tightrope, being with Adrien. On the one hand, her crush on him had never really gone away over three years they had been in each other’s lives. They had become better friends but there was a part of her that never stopped hoping for something more. The part of her that noticed the beautiful green of his eyes and the way his hair fell to the side and she definitely couldn’t help the flutter in her stomach when he would say her name. 

Of course, it only complicated things when she found out he was also her partner and best friend, Chat Noir. The same Chat Noir who had flirted with Ladybug endlessly and professed his undying love for her on more than one occasion. It was like an awkward secret that lay just below the surface. Chat still flirted but it was a bit more guarded, and Marinette still watched Adrien but made sure not to get caught looking. She supposed at some point they would have to talk about it, but she sure wasn’t going to rush it. 

They stayed in the same spot for what felt like hours. One would get up and walk around a bit while they other stayed on the bench and then they would switch places, patrolling their little area. The sky had become a deep pink and orange. 

“It’s weird not to hear birds or cars or anything, really,” Adren remarked.

The silence was eerie. Their surroundings were picturesque and beautiful, but something about it didn’t feel genuine.

“I don’t know that anyone is coming,” Marinette finally said. Tikki looked up at her, big eyes a little worried. 

“Maybe there is a hotel nearby? We could get a room and come back tomorrow.” Adrien was back on his feet and pacing.

“Uh..I-I don’t kn-know that we need to do that, jus-just yet.” Marinette cursed herself for stuttering. The thought of sharing a hotel room with one Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir or not, was almost too much. She imagined there only being one room left with one bed and they would wake up all tangled around each other and he would be too cute in the morning and then they would finally kiss and kiss and kiss and then---

“Okay, we can wait a little longer if you want.” Uncertainty colored Adrien’s voice. “I don’t know how long we should stay out after dark though. We don’t know anything about this dimension.”

Marinette scrambled for a response to cover her hesitation, finally falling back on teasing. “You aren’t being a scaredy Chat, are you?”

Adrien flashed a smile and sat back down, sliding an arm across her shoulders and pulling her close. “Never! I’m just trying to look out for my lovebug.”

All the blood in Marinette’s body rushed to her face. She stiffened under his arm and let out an unbearably embarrassing squeak.

“Holy moly, you guys are too ridiculously cute,” a voice quipped from above. 

Adrien and Marinette jumped up from the bench, looking up for the source. A dark figure dropped down from a tree and straightened before them. Adrien stepped in front of Marinette, an arm thrown back to shield her. Marinette felt her skin warm.

The woman before them wore a black domino mask that dipped down to the edge of her nose and rounded to mid-cheek. Her blue cat eyes glowed and a small grin graced her lips. Marinette noted the black ensemble including a flared miniskirt and a fluffy tail. The woman was covered in shoulders to toes black but her costume held so many different textures that the aspiring designer in Marinette wanted to see it in better light than the falling twilight surrounding them. Tendrils of silver hair fell around her face from a curling ponytail high at the back of her head. Dark fuzzy cat ears poked through the brushed back wavy hair. 

“Jynx, at your service,” she did a funny little curtsey and grinned, as if enjoying her own personal joke. “You must be Adrien and Marinette.”

“Yes! Hi!” Adrien jumped a bit and held out his hand, but Jynx only raised her eyebrows and turned her attention to Marinette.

“Eager little thing, isn’t he?” 

A shocked giggle escaped Marinette and Adrien sent her an offended look. 

“Jynx, don’t act like you’re any better.” A new player entered from around a bend of trees. “She hasn’t shut up about meeting another Black Cat for days.”

The voice belonged to a man with dark hair. He wore what Marinette could only think of as a more masculine version of her own costume. He was covered in red with black polka dots and black boots rose from his feet almost up to his knees, a red stripe flowing from bottom to top. A yo-yo like her own was attached to a black belt slung low around his waist. 

“Ladybug. Chat Noir.” He nodded to each of them in turn. “I’m Luckbug. Welcome to Dunruff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr: seasonofthegeek for chapter updates and character sketches :)


	2. Two New Friends

“Why don’t you two transform and we’ll head back to our place,” Luckbug offered. “We have a lot to talk about and it will be safer to get you out of here if you’re powered up.”

Marinette looked around the rapidly darkening park dubiously. While they still hadn’t seen any people since they had arrived, it was a relatively open spot.

“Don’t worry, little bug,” Jynx quipped, silver hair glinting in the moonlight. “No one will see you. We chose to meet here for a reason.” 

Adrien took Marinette’s hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Then he dropped it, stepping forward, staring at Jynx with a challenging look on his face. “Plagg, claws out!”

A flash of green light rushed forward and Chat Noir stood in Adrien’s place. “Chat Noir, at your service, Jynx,” he bowed with a flourish and a wink, mimicking her introduction. 

A squeal slashed through the quiet surroundings. “Look at his bell! Red, do you see his bell?! It is so cute!” She reached a gloved hand out, but Chat retreated, the unmasked bottom of his cheeks turning a soft pink. “Is your tail a belt?! Look at his sweet little ears! Red!” Jynx skipped over to Luckbug and curled her arm around his. “Can I keep him?”

“Tikki, spots on!” Marinette transformed quickly in a flash of pink and took Chat’s hand, a wave of possessiveness washing over her. He shot her a grateful look, weaving his clawed fingers with hers.

Luckbug had a small smile on his lips. “I think that answers your question, you pesky kitty.” Jynx’s bottom lip protruded into a pout but Luckbug brought her gloved hand to his mouth and gave her knuckles a kiss. “Okay, you two, follow us.”

Luckbug and Jynx led Ladybug and Chat Noir down the winding path, passing trees and empty park benches and abandoned playgrounds. The further they went down the path, the more the area around them grew less manicured. The path was riddled with cracks and the grass to the side gave way to packed dirt. The lush trees turned into brittle naked trunks. They came to a large iron gate in a crumbling stonewall.

“Here is where things can turn hairy.” Luckbug gestured towards the utter darkness that lay before them. Marinette had expected streetlights or soft light emitting from house windows or something once they had reached the street, but none of that was evident. Even though there was clearly a moon in the sky, (actually, there were two moons now that Marinette was paying enough attention) barely any light filtered down to the path before them. 

“Chat Noir, I’m assuming you can at least make out the street?”

Chat was quiet for a moment, his green eyes searching the darkness ahead. “I can, not that it means much.”

“You and Jynx will take the lead since you can actually see. Keep an eye on all sides. Deaus has turned anything left living here into monsters.”

Chat took Ladybug’s hand and placed it on his waist. “Stick close to me,” he murmured. Something in the darkness had set his nerves on edge. He was tempted to sweep Ladybug into his arms and carry her princess-style until they reached their destination but he knew better than to attempt it.

Ladybug’s hand on his waist seemed to spread warmth out from where her fingertips pressed lightly into his side. The rest of her body trailed closely behind him and Chat could swear he could almost feel her heartbeat against his back.

While the journey took all of fifteen minutes through the dark and silent streets, it felt like much longer to Chat. His nerves were strung so tight that even hearing Ladybug’s uneven breaths behind him had set an itch under his skin. Someone – or something – was watching them. He just knew it. 

Even Jynx, who had been perky and amused just minutes before, had become a stoic shadow beside him. Her eyes constantly roamed back and forth, her fluffy tail slashing behind her in an angry rhythm. Luckbug stuck close to her back, his own eyes searching the darkness. 

This was more what Chat had expected when they stepped through the portal, not exactly this, but more this than the idyllic park where they had first found themselves. Adrien had rented all the Mad Max movies the night before their journey in some attempt to calm his nerves and bone up on the post-apocalyptic world. He was thinking he might have made a mistake. 

“Here we are.” Luckbug’s voice was so low and quiet that Chat wondered for a moment if he had actually heard him. He opened his mouth to respond when a flash of light struck and Jynx grunted beside him and dropped to the ground.

“Chat!” Ladybug warned. He felt her unclip his baton and place it in his hand before he could completely turn towards her. A snarl ripped through the air and Ladybug cried out as she disappeared from Chat’s side. An ice-cold hand gripped his chin roughly at the same time a sharp blow to his back made him fall to his knees. 

“Well, well, well. Looks like we have another pretty kitty for our collection,” an oily voice oozed through the darkness. Chat could see glittering eyes and a sallow face before him. With a shock, he realized he couldn’t move his arms or legs. His chest rose in shallow breaths.

“Ladybug?!” Chat’s voice was high and strained. Something was happening to him he couldn’t understand. It was becoming hard to breath and his heart was racing so fast he thought it might explode in his chest. His body felt like a lead weight trapping his essence to the earth. In the back of his mind, he logically knew that some magic must be doing this to him but he couldn’t seem to calm himself down.

“Was she the girl in red?” Oily asked. “Don’t worry about her, kitten. I put her out of her misery quickly. You’ll find I can be a kind master when warranted.” Sharp nails scraped along Chat’s scalp and he grit his teeth not to scream.

“If you hurt her –“

Oily laughed and it was a sound that sent Chat’s stomach plummeting to the ground. “My dear kitten, I slit her throat like a pig. She barely knew what had happened before she was spilling all her red on the ground.”

Bile rose up before Chat even knew it was coming. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t true. Ladybug may be hurt but she wasn’t dead. Everything happened too fast. There was absolutely no way. He would feel it. He would know. Why had they come here? Why had Fu sent them here? This was a suicide mission. Chat vomited, his hands shooting out to catch his body before he could face-plant in his own sick. The world swam around him.

Oily tsked and yanked Chat’s head back by his hair. “It really was pathetic, you know. She kept calling out ‘Adrien’ as her life bled out of her. As if a savior would come. You’ll be much better off with me. I can show you what you’ve been missing.” The cold hand caressed his face. “You belong to me now.”

Tears filled Chat’s mask and ran down his cheeks. She had been calling his name. She had thought he would save her. He had failed her. He had failed her and there was no redeeming himself. He deserved to be captured and tortured and killed. He deserved this.

“Adrien!”

There was no reason to fight anymore. She was gone. She was everything. Why hadn’t he told her?

“Adrien…Chat, please!”

“We’re losing him!”

“Bluewing, do something!”

Cold sunk into his bones. His muscles slowly frosted over, numbness washing up his body. Ladybug’s…no, Marinette’s blue eyes were watching him. He didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve to see her as his life slowly leaked away, but ultimately, Adrien decided he was a selfish man. If this was his last chance, his last time to see her, he would drink her in until his vision failed him. 

Her lips moved but no sound came out. Chat frowned at that. Why was she trying to talk to him? She was a ghost and he was dying. Couldn’t she wait the few minutes he must have left before his own death? She would have plenty of time to yell at him when they were both ghosts. Maybe they could be ghost superheroes! They could still be together. Chat tried to grin but found it hard to make his mouth cooperate. Nino would think it was hilarious, a ghost superhero team…

Nino. Nino and Alya. They would be devastated when he didn’t come home. They would never know what really happened. Adrien had told Nino he was in love with Marinette and was following her to the States absolutely without his father’s permission. He was legally an adult after all but he did still live at home and his father was technically his boss.

His father. Granted, Gabriel Agreste would never win any Father of the Year awards but he wasn’t all bad. Adrien could even remember a happier time before his mother had gone. A time when Gabriel would take breaks to watch a movie with the pair or when he would take the time to explain different aspects of design with a curious Adrien. His father had become a hardened shell of his past self after his wife was gone. What would losing his son do?

And Natalie and Gorilla. Would they blame themselves? Adrien had slipped out of his home that day without a backwards glance. 

Would Plagg survive his death? Of course he would. How many Black Cats must he have been host to before Adrien had been shoved into his care? He had often remarked what an irresponsible and rash kitten Adrien proved to be. He would probably be glad to move on to someone new. Adrien would actually miss him though. Were ghosts supposed to miss people and things? That was okay, right? How would Plagg get home? Was Tikki somewhere out there, staying with Marinette’s body as it cooled on the ground…

Marinette. How had this happened? He had quite literally led her to her death. She had fought this trip. She insisted Master Fu not send them, but Adrien had been so excited. A chance to see another dimension?! Marinette had finally relented, asked his help with crafting a ruse to cover their time away.

Adrien wondered how Marinette would have felt about knowing he had told Nino he loved her and was running way to be with her. He did love her. He had loved her as Ladybug for years and he had realized his love for Marinette a mere week before they revealed themselves to each other. What a guilt-filled week that had been, hating himself for falling in love with two women at once. He hadn’t meant to fall for Marinette. It just happened.

He had been sick with the flu. His father was away on business and Natalie herself was bedridden with the flu as well. It had gotten so bad that Plagg had curled up on Adrien’s chest for almost a full day as comfort. Although he was almost too sick to function, Adrien felt an overwhelming need for human companionship. He had texted Nino begging for some kind of interaction. Within an hour, none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sitting on the edge of Adrien’s snotty tissue-covered bed with a bowl of warm broth and a nervous but pleasant smile. 

“I’m going to get you sick,” Adrien sniffed, self-consiously dabbing at his nose. Even though he was now 6’5” and 18 years old, he felt like a small, snot-nosed kid in his ratty Jagged Stone shirt, surrounded by pillows. Marinette on the other hand was layered in a cozy sweater and leggings, her hair pulled back into a messy bun. She had absolutely no right to look so adorable when he felt so lousy.

“I have a pretty good immune system.” Marinette brushed off his concern, opening the container of soup. “Besides, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see model Adrien Agreste not looking his absolute best.”

He and Marinette had gotten closer over the last year since Nino and Alya had been in a steady “on” session of their on-again/off-again relationship. Dinner dates, concerts, movie nights, it honestly didn’t matter what they did together, or even if Nino and Alya were with them. If it wasn’t for his love of Ladybug, he could see himself falling for Marinette.

And that’s when it hit him as he took a big slurp of warm broth. He had fallen for Marinette. Somewhere along the line, she had stopped being just a friend and had become something more.

“I love you” is what he should have said that night as she nervously cuddled in beside him, but he didn’t. He thanked her for the broth and they watched some old anime with pretty boys and quiet girls he couldn’t recall now.

Adrien floated away from his body. He was much lighter now. He had lost sight of Marinette for a moment but now he found her eyes again. Those gorgeous blue eyes. He didn’t have much longer now. He should tell her.

“I love you.”

“I know,” she sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr: seasonofthegeek for chapter updates and character sketches :)


	3. Three Little Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story stays pretty intense for a while but I will try to sneak some fluff in when I can! :)

Adrien had never regretted anything in his life as much as he regretted opening his eyes in that moment. The thin skin of his eyelids had obviously been the only barrier between his sanity and absolute mind-searing pain. He had been badly hungover exactly once in his life and it had been a delicious picnic on a warm sunny day compared to this.

“Kid, you awake?”

“Plagg, is that you?” Adrien was confused. Hadn’t he died? He seemed to remember dying. Is it possible to remember dying? “Did you die too? I didn’t want you to die too.”

“You need to open your eyes, Kid.” Plagg’s voice sounded tired. 

Suddenly it all came rushing back to Adrien. The attack, the creature with the oily voice, nails scraping along his scalp, Ladybug crying out his name as her blood soaked into the ground…

“She’s dead,” Adrien gasped, his lungs seizing. “She’s dead. She’s dead. SHE’S DEAD!” His eyes clenched shut and he bucked upwards. Strong hands were suddenly on him and pressing him back down but he fought back with all his might.

“Adrien! Chat Noir! You have to calm down! Open your eyes!”

More weight pressed against him as he bucked. His breaths were quick and shallow and his head was starting to get fuzzy.

“Let him go!” 

The pressure suddenly lifted and Adrien popped up from the table he had been forced down upon. Eyes still closed against the pain, he shot out his left first in defense and it met with soft enveloping warmth. “Adrien, please open your eyes,” a sweet voice pleaded. 

The soft warmth spread down his arm and against his chest. A new pressure was on his body now but it wasn’t harsh like before. It took him a moment to realize someone was in his lap, wrapping strong arms around him. 

“It’s me. It’s Marinette.” Breath tickled the bare skin of Adrien’s neck. 

He swallowed, his throat burning. “Is this heaven then?”

There was a loud snort and an annoyed male voice scolded, “Lukas!”

“Please open your eyes. I’m right here.”

Adrien took a deep breath and squinted. He could see blue and pink and black through his eyelashes. Freckles and a cute little nose. Dark eyelashes. “Mari,” he breathed.

“Hi.” Tears glistened in Marinette’s eyes as she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss against his lips. 

 

“They were practically waiting for us at the welcome mat,” Luckbug, or rather Will, explained. “They shot you and Jynx with this toxin they’ve used on us before and then tried to corner Marinette and me into a very outnumbered fight.”

Adrien nodded numbly. He and Marinette sat cuddled together on a ragged red couch, his arm holding her tight against his body. Part of him still wasn’t completely sure this all wasn’t some sort of dream and he would wake back up on the cold ground, Ladybug’s dead body only a short distance from his. But that vision didn’t seem entirely right either…

“They weren’t counting on Lukas though,” Marinette added. She turned her head to the side to address the fourth person in the room. “Thank you, really. We would have been in serious trouble if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

Lukas slouched against the doorframe, long dark hair hanging in his eyes. “I knew you were on the way. I heard the commotion and acted. It’s the job.”

“Still, thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if anything-“ Her voice broke off. Adrien looked down at her curiously. Her bangs hid her eyes from his view but he could see her worrying her lip. She sniffled. Tikki fluttered down from her shoulder to her lap and nuzzled her hand. Adrien tightened his hold on her.

“What were they exactly?” Plagg spoke up from the top of Adrien’s head where he had been nesting. Although it was usually annoying, Adrien had found it very comforting at this exact moment. 

“Mutants, zombies, monsters, choose a term,” Will sighed. “Deaus has turned any living being that didn’t run away fast enough. They exist to serve him. Half of them tear this land apart searching for the Miraculous relic and the other half search for us.”

“And now they’ve found us,” Lukas added grimly. 

“It seems so.”

“Don’t we need to get out of here then?!” Adrien jumped up, dislodging Marinette, Tikki, and Plagg. “They were going to take me! They killed Ladybug! They killed Chat Noir!”

“Adrien, I’m fine. I’m right he-“

Adrien grabbed Marinette’s hands, his frantic eyes intent on hers. “They killed her, Mari. They slit Ladybug’s throat and then they carved out Chat Noir’s heart. There was so much blood. It was everywhere,” his voice was soft and pained.

“They didn’t slit my throat.” Marinette pulled his hand up to hear smooth neck. She moved her hand to his chest. “They didn’t cut out your heart. I can feel it beating.” She brought her other hand to his cheek. “We are okay, Chaton,” she said calmly.

Adrien reared back as if she had slapped him. “Why would you call me that?! Do you think this is some kind of joke? I watched them die!”

Marinette looked at Will helplessly. “What’s happening to him?”

“The toxin must still be in his system. It has caused amnesia and hallucinations before but he should be okay in a while. The worst is definitely behind him.” 

“I don’t have amnesia! Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing right here. I hate that. Everyone always does that.” Adrien started to pace the small living room. 

Plagg floated down from his hair. “Who am I, Kid?”

“You’re Plagg. You’re my cat,” Adrien huffed, continuing his pacing.

“Your floating, talking, magical cat?”

“Yes. And you like cheese. Camembert.”

Plagg grinned at Marinette. “He seems fine to me.” He received matching glares from the girl and her kwami.

“Who am I, Adrien?” Marinette asked.

Adrien growled under his breath but stopped in front of her. A sheen of sweat had formed over his face. “You’re Marinette.”

“And you know me?

“Yes, of course I do,” Adrien ground out between gritted teeth. “I’m in love with you. Why wouldn’t I know you?” Apparently not being able to stay still any longer, he began to pace again. Marinette gaped like a fish for a few moments before sliding down to sit on the couch.

“I want a turn.” Everyone, aside from a shell-shocked Marinette, turned towards Jynx as she sauntered into the room, gray and black tail swaying behind her. “Who am I, pretty boy?”

The manic blonde stopped to look. “You’re…you’re…” He frowned. “You’re not Chat Noir.”

She laughed, “No, I most definitely am not.”

“You are familiar though.”

“How so?”

“I don’t…I don’t know. I feel like I know you, but I can’t remember anything about you.” Adrien slumped. “I guess I do have amnesia.”

“Nah, you’re fine. Besides, the first time is always the worst. I remember the first time I–“ Green light rushed up Jynx’s body and a very annoyed Plagg flew out and dropped to the coffee table.

“You said five minutes! You promised! I demand canned chicken right now. I’m feeling weak. I’m not fully healed. You took advantage of an old soul. I might die,” he whined out.

“You’ll survive. I have complete confidence.” The girl scooped up the limp kwami with a flourish. “I’m Violet, by the way.” She held out her hand to Adrien who shook it on autopilot, still trying to figure out what he just saw happen. Marinette squeaked when Violet thrust her hand out, still processing Adrien’s annoyed declaration of love. “You guys are too fun.”

Marinette watched Violet exit the room and saw Lukas’s eyes follow after her. The mention of chicken had made her stomach rumble. She turned to ask Will about dinner but the look on his face closed her mouth. Will’s eyes were hard as he watched Lukas watch Violet. Maybe she and Adrien weren’t the most awkward ones in the room after all.

 

“I’m Chat Noir,” Adrien stated suddenly, a fork full of noodles stuck in limbo halfway to his mouth. “You’re Ladybug.” 

Marinette nodded. 

“And we are not dead.”

“Ding ding ding!” Violet laughed, grabbing a roll off the middle plate and snatching it out from under Lukas’s outstretched hand. 

“And you’re Jynx, the other Black Cat Miraculous holder,” Adrien smiled.

“This boy deserves a prize.” Violet handed over the roll while Lukas scowled.

Adrien bit into the warm roll with pleasure. “Sorry I went a little crazy there for a minute.”

Jynx laughed. “We’ve all been there, believe me. I was convinced I was an actual cat after an attack one time. I think I tried to sleep on Lukas’s head.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Marinette found Adrien’s hand under the table and intertwined it with hers. Delightful goosebumps broke out over his skin.

“Now that amnesia guy is back to normal, can we please focus on the problem at hand?” Lukas’s fork clattered to his plate in a frustrated toss. “We shouldn’t be sitting here eating dinner like everything is fine. Deaus’s people literally ambushed you guys on our doorstep tonight. We need to pack essentials and get out of here before they figure out a way in. We’re sitting ducks!” 

“We’re fine for the night at least, Lukas.” Will sipped amber liquid from a glass tumbler. “This place is fortified enough to keep out an angry horde. We will see how tomorrow looks when it gets here.”

“How can you be so calm?!” Lukas seethed. “This dumb idiot practically let himself die.” He jabbed a finger at Adrien. “And you and bug-girl were nearly captured or killed, who knows what the plan was there. And Violet…” 

“I’m fine, Lu. See? All better.” 

“You had a knife in your thigh and your stomach had been split open like a filet,” Lukas responded flatly.

Marinette stared in wonder. How was Violet even moving around right now? Once Lukas, or rather Bluewing, had helped dispatch of their attackers, all of Marinette’s attention had gone to her Chat writhing on the ground with a long arrow shaft sticking out of his back and a deep gash across his forehead. Bluewing had yanked the arrow out with little care and placed one hand on each wound, chanting words evoking a blue light that enveloped them all.

“You healed me,” Violet replied simply. “You always do.”

“I shouldn’t have to so often!” 

“Lukas-“ Will started, his voice heavy.

“No! You should be looking out for her, not the other way around.”

“I’m his Black Cat, Lu. My job description is literally to look out for him.” Violet cast her eyes down to her lap, as if anticipating a reaction. “We’ve been over this. If I get hurt, it’s okay. I’m expendable.”

The loud bang of the chair hitting the floor as Lukas stormed out of the room echoed against the walls. 

 

An hour later, Adrien was asleep on one of the couches and Marinette was restless. She paced the living room, checking out the bookshelf and studying pictures. Marinette had that itchy feeling that only seemed to go away once she was transformed, but Tikki and Plagg were curled around each other and sleeping at Adrien’s feet. 

“Hey, Bugsy,” Violet whispered, startling her. “Wanna come talk?”

Marinette cast one last look at her partner and the kwamis and nodded. She followed Violet down the hall to the second door on the right. Violet’s room was a deep purple and overflowing with plush. Pillows and stuffed animals covered the bed and were piled on the floor. Marinette had the sudden urge to jump on one of the piles. 

Violet shut the door and dropped herself onto a pillow pile. “Sorry about dinner. Unfortunately that happens a lot.”

“It’s okay. It was a stressful situation. Team dynamics can be hard.”

Violet nodded, chewing on her lip. “Hey, Marinette?”

“Hmmm?”

“Are you in love with Adrien?”

“Yes,” Marinette blurted, her cheeks reddening but Violet hardly seemed to notice.

“Does it make it hard to work together? I mean, Chat Noir is supposed to protect you, but I’m sure you want to protect him just as much.”

“Honestly, this is all still pretty new,” Marinette admitted. “We only found out each other’s identities a couple of months ago and this has been the first really stressful situation we’ve been in. I’ve been in love with Adrien since I was fifteen years old, but he was always a civilian to me. Someone who needed to be protected.”

Violet chuckled. “And when you found out he was your magical partner who has been protecting you?”

“I’ll let you know when I finally get it figured out,” Marinette sighed. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Violet held a hand out and her Plagg lifted himself from her bed with a groan and curled up in her palm. A rolling purr flowed out from the creature when Violet stroked a finger down his head.

“Are you in love with Will?”

Violet was suddenly very interested in a loose thread on the pillow by her feet.

“Or maybe Lukas?” Marinette tried again.

“I don’t know….both…neither,” Violet finally answered. “I’ve known Lukas forever. We practically shared a crib. He’s always been my best friend and sometimes it feels like I was always meant to love him.”

“And then there’s Will,” Violet continued. “We only met last year when we were given our Miraculous. There’s something about the Ladybug and Black Cat though, right? They were made together, they’re meant to be together. Do you ever feel that way?”

Marinette nodded. “I get that. Like, I believe my feelings for Adrien are real but there is that small part of me that wonders if it’s the Miraculous influence that made me fall so hard.”

“Exactly!” Violet brought her Plagg down to cuddle in her lap. “Sometimes I wish Lukas and I had gotten any of the other ones, you know? If we had been the Peacock and the Fox and the Ladybug or the Turtle and the Butterfly and the Ladybug, maybe things would be easier. I think Lukas feels like he’s an outsider. Will and I are so closely connected through these things that no matter what, we need each other to balance out.”

“We have two new team members, the Fox and the Bee,” Marinette explained. “They’ve only been working with us since right before Adrien and I found out who we were. I’ve been having trouble accepting them, to be honest. Part of me feels like we don’t need them. Chat Noir and I are enough together. It isn’t logical. I know that, but…”

“The bond is too strong to deny,” Violet replied. “It’s hard to let anyone else in.”

“Yeah.”

“This is really nice though,” Violet smiled. “Having someone to talk to who gets it. Lukas gets angry and Will doesn’t seem to understand.”

“It is nice,” Marinette agreed. “I haven’t had anyone to talk to either. Things are still a little awkward with Adrien sometimes.”

“I think I’m going to give it up,” Violet confessed in a tiny voice. She stroked Plagg’s head with a trembling finger. “Once we find this relic and get you guys back home, once we defeat Deaus, I’m going to give up being Jynx. I’m going to try to convince the guys to do the same. Maybe then we can figure out where we all stand.”

Marinette tried to imagine giving Ladybug and Tikki up after all this time. Sure, at the beginning she had been scared and insecure, but now? After all they’d been through…Could Adrien give up being Chat Noir? Would she even want him to?

“I don’t know that I could ever-“ Marinette began.

An unearthly scream tore through the house and suddenly everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr: seasonofthegeek for chapter updates and character sketches :)


	4. Four Quick Transformations

“Marinette!” Adrien called out, his head still fogged with the deep sleep he had been ripped from. Had someone screamed? The room was pitch black except for the green glow of Plagg’s eyes.

The sound of buckling metal tore through the darkness. “Plagg, claws out!”

Chat Noir watched Tikki fly out of the room and followed her lead as voices called out around him, flashes of light pouring out of doorways down the hall.

“Dusuu, wings up!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

“Plagg, claws out!”

“Tikki! What’s going on? Where’s Adrien?!” 

Chat Noir heard Marinette’s panicked voice through the darkness. His heart flared with warmth as he entered a dark room and was immediately at her side. “I’m here, Princess.” He held the young woman tight against him. Another screech of metal shot through the air.

“Chat,” Marinette murmured, pressing her face against the cool synthetic material of his suit. “I don’t think I like this trip very much.” 

Chat gave a wry chuckle. “I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we should pick somewhere sunny with a beach next time. I love fabulous in swim trunks. Why don’t you transform and we’ll figure out what’s going on?”

Marinette nodded but stayed pressed against Chat. “Tikki, spots on!” Pink light flashed down Marinette’s body and Chat marveled at the feeling of her transforming under his hands.

Ladybug gave him a quick squeeze and stepped out of his arms, Chat instantly feeling the loss. “Violet went to check out what had happened. She told me to wait here.”

“And I’m back. We need to get out of here now.” Jynx stood silhouetted in the doorway. “There’s only one more barrier left standing before Deaus’s people will be inside.” She tossed Marinette’s backpack at Ladybug.

“Lead the way,” Chat took the backpack and shouldered it and then grabbed Ladybug’s hand in his.

_________________________________________________________________________

 

The five superheroes stood on a high hill, the sun just beginning to rise. Below them, the previously fortified house burned with rage, small explosions piercing the steady roar.

“Everything is gone,” Jynx said in a small voice. “Our whole lives…everything…”

“We all made it out though. That’s the most important thing,” Luckbug wrapped an arm around her but she pushed him away and strode back into the grove of trees behind them. 

“I’ll watch out for her.” Bluewing shared a look with his teammate for a second and then followed the distraught woman through the trees.

“What do we do now?” Ladybug asked. “Obviously these guys aren’t going to stop, especially now that they know Chat and I are here to help.”

“There’s a cave about a day’s walk from here. There are markings that refer to two Ladybug Miraculous. That’s why I had Fu send you here. I think that it might take both of us to get in because it wouldn’t work for just Jynx and I. If I’m right, that’s where we will find the relic.” Luckbug looked back as if he could see his partners through the heavy tree line. “It’s not going to be easy to get there, especially now that our resources are so limited.”

“We better get started then.” Ladybug moved off towards the trees and didn’t have to look back to know her faithful Chat followed right behind.

_________________________________________________________________________

 

Luckbug hadn’t been exaggerating when he said it wouldn’t be easy. Sweat trickled down Marinette’s back, her shirt plastered to her skin. They had all detransformed to keep the kwamis’ energy up as much as possible. It has been an all day affair, only stopping for short bouts to share the small amount of water they had. 

Marinette worried that Adrien still wasn’t back to full health, but he trudged on beside her, blonde hair lank and greasy. If always-gorgeous-and-perfectly-coifed model Adrien Agreste looked this ragged, Marinette had no desire to see a mirror until she had showered three or four times. They hadn’t said much to each other, no one had, the weight of everything that had happened over the last day hanging thick in the air. Had it really been less than 48 hours since she and Adrien stood in Master Fu’s den, anxiously waiting to start this adventure? It didn’t seem possible. So much had happened. Adrien had almost died. She had kissed him. He said he loved her.

It struck Marinette that he may not remember his irritated declaration of love. He had been experiencing some form of toxin-driven amnesia at the time (was this really her life?). In fact, maybe it wasn’t even true! It was probably a hallucination. Of course, he didn’t love her. Or rather he did love her but there was no way he was in love with her.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah. I was just…just thinking, that’s all.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed. “Want to talk about it?”

‘Are you really in love with me?’ she wanted to ask. Instead, Marinette shook her head and tried to send him a reassuring smile. 

“I need to stop,” Lukas dropped to a fallen log.

Will turned, irritation evident on his face. “We can’t stop now. We’ll be there soon and then we can rest.”

“Just for a minute.” Lukas leaned back, bracing his arms behind him and turning his face skyward, eyes closed. “Come sit, Vi.”

Marinette saw Violet’s eyes flick between Will’s stern gaze and Lukas’s relaxed form. Almost reluctantly, she took a seat on the log, instant relief washing over her face as she sank down. Adrien and Marinette sat down on the cool ground; Adrien stretching his long legs out before him and using two dragging scoots to get close enough to Marinette that her folded knee hit against his thigh. He bumped her shoulder with his before laying his head against it and closing his eyes, a soft breath escaping his lips. Tikki and Plagg floated out of Marinette’s bag and curled up in her lap. 

Besides being exhausted, hungry, and scared, Marinette was thinking that this day really wasn’t so bad as the weight of Adrien’s head on her shoulder settled into her bones. Adrien’s breathing had evened out in a steady rhythm. The silly cat had fallen asleep within minutes! She suddenly felt eyes on her and looked up to find Will only a few feet away, an unreadable expression on his face. He held eye contact for a few moments more before sweeping his gaze through the trees. 

The heroine wasn’t sure she liked her other dimensional counterpart. There was something about him that just didn’t sit right with her. Maybe he just dealt with stress differently than she did. She understood the hardship of being in charge. As much as she campaigned that she and Chat Noir had always been partners, always a team, she could admit to herself that she was the leader. Now with the addition of Vixen and Queen Bee, that had become even more apparent. She understood how lonely it could feel; the duty of making the right decision and leading a team weighed heavily some days.

Although they had become less frequent, Marinette recalled a recent akuma attack that had tested her. It had been Vixen and Queen Bee’s first attack. They had been brought on once Master Fu had decided on this excursion so Paris would be safe while their beloved Bug and Chat were away. Everyone was all over the place. The akumatized victim, a mother who had been publicly berated for her lack of discipline with her screaming toddler, could cause debilitating shame in anyone she touched. The streets were littered with citizens sobbing, gouging themselves with their own fingernails, and hiding their faces as they curled in around themselves. The sounds alone were excruciating. Marinette could never recall hearing so much pain.

Eager to prove their worth, the two newbies crashed into the woman, grabbing at her many accessories to find the hidden akuma. Within minutes, both Miraculous women were on the ground in tears, down for the count. Chat Noir had stayed back with Ladybug accessing the damage. 

“She keeps reaching into the bag but never pulls anything out,” he had said.

“You think it’s the bag or something in it?” Ladybug had asked, her attention now on the large bright blue tote in the crook of the victim’s arm. A red car was stitched on the side with the name “Simon” underneath. “I think that’s a diaper bag.”

“Maybe she didn’t have what her kid wanted. Maybe that’s what she is looking for.”

“We need to get that bag, kitty.”

“On it, My Lady.” Chat jumped down to the street, calling on Cataclysm. His power tore a yawning chasm in the asphalt, knocking the akuma down. He raced over and grabbed the bag off her arm just as the woman’s hand latched on to his ankle. 

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug screamed, casting her yo-yo in the air. A red and black stuffed lion dropped into her hands and she ran towards her partner.

Chat fell to his knees with a cry. Ladybug watched in horror as he dug his clawed hands into his head, pulling hard at his hair. His claws continued their trek down his face leaving bloody lines from cheek to chin, his mouth open in a soundless scream and his eyes clenched shut. She couldn’t look away from her partner’s anguish, which was when the akuma struck. 

In one quick moment, Marinette had recalled every embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her, every time she felt guilty, every lie she had told herself. They all came crashing in on her like an anvil and the shame was too much. Did she really think she was a hero? She was worthless. She was nothing. She was less than nothing. She was –

“L-la-lady,” Chat’s voice was hoarse. Marinette couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She was no leader; she didn’t deserve him as a partner. He was much better off without her. She would just stay right here, curled into a polka-dotted ball until Tikki dropped the transformation and everyone could see just what a fraud she really was.

“Ppp…please, Ladyb…” A new voice this time. Vixen maybe?

“Do. It.” This voice was angry, teeth gnashing against the words. Definitely Queen Bee.

Marinette couldn’t do it. Didn’t they see that? She had led them all here and now—

She steeled herself with what little sanity she had left and made a grab for the diaper bag. By some miracle, the bag ripped like tissue paper and a black butterfly emerged. Ladybug cleansed the akuma but could hardly speak as the white glowing creature floated away. She found the discarded Lucky Charm on the ground by the victim’s feet and it took all her strength to throw it in the air to release the Miraculous cure.

The bloodied gashes running down Chat’s face disappeared in a flurry of magical ladybugs and her three teammates met her with smiles. Ladybug found she couldn’t manage more than a grimace. She gave them a nod and cast her yo-yo out, swinging away, Chat Noir’s voice calling after her. That night she sobbed into her pillow until her body had nothing left to give. Miraculous cure or not, Marinette couldn’t shake the overwhelming inferiority she had felt.

A sharp hit to the bottom of her shoe jolted Marinette from her memories. A boot pulled away from her foot. She craned her neck up to see Will.

“The cave is just over that ridge. We need to get there before dark. This needs to end today.” Will’s eyes were guarded, flicking away as she looked at him. 

Marinette moved to shake Adrien awake. 

“Just leave him. Vi and Lukas are out too. We can be back before they even realize we were gone.”

An uneasy feeling slithered along Marinette’s skin. Something wasn’t right. She stalled, “Adrien wouldn’t want me to leave him. Besides, what if some of Deaus’s followers came while we were gone?” She made an act of getting up but popped her elbow into Adrien’s side and bounced her shoulder causing his head to lift up, expression groggy.

“Mari?” If circumstances were different, she would have swooned at the way her name sounded in his half-awake cadence. She made a promise to herself that she would hear him say her name again with sleep still heavy on him. Another time, another place, but she promised. 

“We need to get going,” Marinette pushed herself up from the ground and gave Adrien a hand. Plagg grumbled under his breath as he flew back into Marinette’s bag. Tikki patted her charge’s cheek and joined Plagg.

Will had pulled Violet up from the log and Lukas was stretching as he stood. Will whispered something to Violet and her face flushed a pretty pink. He kissed her cheek and took her hand, leading her in the direction of the cave. Lukas stared after them, face unreadable.

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” Marinette whispered to Adrien as they took up the rear. “Something doesn’t seem right with Will.” She mouthed the last word, daring a glance at the trio before them. “He wanted us to leave you guys and go after the relic ourselves. It doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t we stay together for protection at the very least?”

Adrien’s eyes were serious. “What do you want to do?”

“Just help me keep watch.”

“I’ll always have your back, My Lady,” Adrien’s tone was light, but his eyes were tight around the edges. He took her hand and brought it up to his lips for a kiss. It was such a Chat thing to do that Marinette felt her insides squirm. When he went to drop her hand, Marinette twined her fingers with his and their joined hands fell between them as they continued their trek.


	5. Five Long Seconds

The sky was a deep purple by the time Will stopped them in front of a yawning cave. “Tikki, spots on.” He looked back at the group. “We need to transform now. Ladybug, Jynx, and I will go in. Bluewing and Chat Noir will stay out here and keep watch.”

“Absolutely not. I go where she goes.” Adrien tightened his grip on Marinette’s hand. 

Luckbug shot him a look of pure irritation. “This isn’t about you and your girlfriend. This is about the fate of our world and possibly yours. Do you think a being like Deaus is going to be content to only take over one dimension? What are you going to do when he comes after yours? We need to go in a take this relic but we also need people we trust to watch our backs.”

Chat Noir suddenly stood in Adrien’s place but his hand was still intertwined with his partner’s. “We do this together or not at all.”

Marinette called up her transformation and watched as Violet and Lukas did the same.

“Follow me, Ladybug, Jynx.” Luckbug started into the cave.

“Well, I’m not staying out here by myself,” Bluewing said, following the group.

Luckbug turned around, angry. “Damn it. You two stay out here so we can get this done.”

“I’m bored,” a low voice drawled from the dark line of trees. “Let’s get on with this already.”

“Deaus,” Jynx hissed, pivoting herself in front of Luckbug. Ladybug frowned when Chat Noir took a similar stance in front of her. She stepped forward so she was even with him.

“Yes, yes, it’s me.” 

The first thing Marinette thought when the man emerged from the darkness was how absolutely ordinary he looked, average height, middle-aged, a suit and tie that could have been from any department store. As he drew closer, Marinette could see his eyes and they absolutely chilled her. They glowed with power but were flat, passionless, and cold. They were the eyes of a man who had destroyed countless lives and hadn’t given it a second thought. 

The mutated followers of Deaus flowed out behind him, surrounding the group of heroes. Bluewing moved to stand slightly in front of Jynx, who still held her position firm in front of Luckbug. Ladybug felt Chat Noir move out a little to hold on to the precious space they had left. She appreciated his strategic thinking.

“Ah, you must be the other Ladybug Miraculous holder,” Deaus brought his attention to Ladybug. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“Not a disappointment, I hope,” Ladybug quipped.

“Not at all, sweet girl. In fact, I think this might be even easier than we thought.” He turned to the beings at his side. “Kill the cat and bring the girl to me.”

As soon as she processed his words, Ladybug was turning to Chat Noir, pulling him back towards her. His green eyes were blown wide as he stumbled into her embrace. As if in slow motion, a gnarled hand on his shoulder ripped him away from Ladybug and red and silver tore through the front of Chat’s suit as a large blade cut through him. Blood welled on his lips and began to dribble down his chin. Someone was screaming. Marinette realized it was her as the blade disappeared from Chat’s chest and he fell to his knees, his eyes already closing. She fell with him, cradling his head. Five seconds. It had only take five seconds for her whole world to fall around her.

“Chat, no, please, no… Adrien, please stay with me. You have to stay with me,” she sobbed, one hand in his hair and the other covering the gaping wound in his chest. “Plagg, don’t you dare let him die. Don’t you dare!”

Desperate, she unclipped her yo-yo and cast it into the air. “Lucky C-“

Ladybug shrieked as hands grabbed her and pulled her away from the love of her life as his blood leaked into the dirty ground. Her yo-yo dropped uselessly by Chat Noir’s still head. She hit and kicked and bit but she was pulled further and further away into the cave. She finally fell limp in her captors’ arms when she saw a flash of green light signifying Chat Noir’s transformation. She felt numb. She let the darkness take her away.

___________________________________________

 

“That was wasteful. You could have at least used him as the sacrifice.”

“We still have the other man. He will work well enough.”

Marinette’s head pounded as reality began to shape itself around her. Her hands were bound behind her back but she was still transformed. She squinted her eyes to get a feel for her surroundings without giving away too much. 

Luckbug stood on the other side of the cave, studying something on the wall. Deaus looked less than impressed as he watched, sitting on an actual throne made from the contorted bodies of his mindless followers. Bile rose in Marinette’s throat as she remembered Adrien lying outside the cave, cold and alone…dead. 

“You back with us?” a quiet voice asked. Ladybug turned her head to the side to see Lukas, detransformed and his face covered in dried blood. His arms were bound behind him. 

“What the hell is going on?” 

“Will’s a damn traitor,” he hissed. “After they killed…when they took you, Will knocked Violet out and came after me. I was holding him off but he managed to take my Miraculous when Deaus’s flunkies got involved.”

Ladybug tried to blink away the tears that were burning her eyes. She could now see Jynx still transformed but bound and unconscious on the other side of Lukas. 

“What does he want?”

“It all comes back to that stupid relic. From what I can gather, it will make Will more powerful but it will ultimately give Deaus the ability to fuse all dimensions in to one big clusterf-“

“Well, well, well. Looks like our playmates are finally awake.” Deaus rose from his throne and stopped beside Violet. “Except for this one, it seems. Up, you worthless pussycat.” He delivered a swift kick to her exposed side. She yelped and curled in tighter. Deaus reached down and grabbed her thick silver ponytail, pulling her into a sitting position. Her face was stained with tears and blood.

“You said you’d leave her alone,” Luckbug interjected, but Marinette hardly felt it held the tone of someone enraged with seeing a person they valued treated so badly. He almost said it as if he felt it was expected, rather than something he actually felt.

“So I did.” Deaus dropped his hold and Jynx slumped back down. “Can we get on with this already? I do have other things I would like to be doing, you know.”

“I think I almost have it. Bring Ladybug over here.”

Deaus smirked as he reach down to pull her up. As soon as she was on her feet, she spit in his face. “I am going to kill you.”

He took a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and calmly wiped his cheek. “You will try, my dear. And you will fail, just like you did with your Black Cat.” Then he grasped her by the throat and dragged her across the dirt floor. Once they reached the other side of the cave, he threw her against the wall. Marinette felt her teeth rattle and a sharp pain bloomed at the back of her head. 

She hardly had time to register as Luckbug grabbed her arm and brought a knife down to it, slicing the suit and skin away from elbow to wrist. Her earrings flared with a burning heat as her blood trickled down into a steel bowl. Will’s deep voice began to chant and Marinette’s head felt light and fuzzy. A sharp bite on her finger brought the world back into focus. 

“Don’t make me regret this, Kid. She’s really trusting you.”

“Wha-?” Marinette couldn’t seem to make her mouth work. 

“Violet. Now shut up and let me do this,” Plagg’s harsh voice replied.

She felt her left pointer finger being pulled back before something cool slid onto it. There was a pressure against the ring and suddenly Marinette’s whole body was on fire. 

She rose to her feet and then floated even higher. Magic swirled around her in pink and green, red and black, purple and gold. It was beautiful and she wanted more. Her suit changed around her, flowing and pulsing with magic. She could feel her very blood boiling with this intensity of it and she craved more. 

The newly formed goddess of creation and destruction looked down on the two tiny beings below her. The one in red and black angered her so all his bones snapped as she looked down on him. His broken body fell to the ground, a trinket clattering from his hands. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice told her the other man deserved more punishment. She thought of fire and suddenly he was withering away, eaten from the inside out, his screams an annoying murmur to her ears. Other beings connected to the second man cried out as they turned to ash and smoke in a line.

There was still no satisfaction. She was missing something. She sent her magic pulsing out, further and further, searching. She found what she might be looking for not too terribly far away. The tiny creature of destruction looked up at her with wide green eyes. Had he not expected to see her? He belonged to her, after all. Her power touched him and he glowed with the magnitude of it. Even still she wasn’t fully satisfied. 

Her Plague seemed to want her attention. She supposed she could grant him audience. He was one of her favorite deities, after all. 

“My goddess, please bring him back.” The small deity floated above the body of a man. The skin was pale and waxy and the lifeblood was already soaked into the ground.

“Why?” She asked, curious. What could this insignificant creature offer with a second life?

“Because he deserves it, Mistress. And so do you,” Her Plague pleaded. “He is your most loyal servant.”

Curiouser and curiouser. The goddess of creation and destruction had always had a soft spot for her Plague. She brought a finger down to light upon the dead man’s forehead.


	6. Six New Sensations

There was vast nothingness and then Adrien was surging back up into his body. He sat up, gasping in air. Every nerve ending was alight and his hair felt as if it was literally standing on end. Glowing green eyes suddenly appeared before his. Plagg chuffed in relief.

“Easy, Kid. Coming back to life can take a bit to get used to.”

“Coming back…” Adrien’s tongue felt heavy in his mouth. 

“Are you pleased, my little Plague?” A honey voice asked.

Adrien blinked and looked up at the floating woman in front of him. Dancing fabrics of purple and gold fell around her body. Her fingers were covered in rings and her bare wrists were tattooed with a ladybug and a black cat paw, one on each. His eyes traveled up to the streaming hair that glowed with a dark light even against the backdrop of the night sky. And then he saw her face.

“Marinette?”

The goddess of creation and destruction cocked her head to the side. The man didn’t seem like much. He was beautiful, yes, but that meant nothing in the end. Despite that, an odd sensation tickled the back of her mind. While she couldn’t see what he could possibly offer a being of power such as herself, she wanted him with her.

“Adrien, I need you to listen to me.” Plagg flew back in front of his face to get his attention. Adrien’s eyes flicked to the kwami but back to the floating Not Marinette before him. “Adrien! We have to bring her back. I need to you pay attention.”

“That’s really her?”

“She must have gotten Jynx’s ring. It doesn’t work like that though. Jynx is a Black Cat but not her Black Cat. That’s you and me. Something got disconnected in the transformation.”

“This has happened before?” Adrien couldn’t keep his eyes off of Marinette. She watched him back, eyes intent.

Plagg grimaced. “Yeah.”

“What do I do?”

“We’ve got to break through somehow. If we can bring Marinette to the forefront, she can drop the transformation.”

“Plague, what is he to me?” The goddess asked. “You claimed him to be my servant but that doesn’t feel right.”

“Up on your feet, Kid,” Plagg commanded roughly. “Say something to her.”

Adrien looked unsure but Plagg just nodded at him. “Marinette, I don’t understand what’s going on but it looks like you saved me. You always save me…”

The goddess stayed silent and Plagg motioned for Adrien to keep talking.

“Do you remember that time we both fell off that flying car? I was sure I was going to be a pancake and at the last possible second, your yo-yo was wrapping around my ankle and you caught me right before I face-planted into the pavement.” Adrien laughed a little. “You’re always right where you need to be.”

“Flying car?” The goddess’s voice wasn’t as sure as it had been before.

“Yeah! And then there was the time when it was raining and I misjudged the distance between two roofs and you caught me just as my feet were slipping out from under me. I would have gotten hurt for sure.”

“Rain…” she murmured.

Plagg nodded at his charge encouragingly. Feeling brave, Adrien stepped closer.

“Sometimes I get to save you too though. One time it was raining and you were going to have to walk home in it. I gave you my umbrella so you wouldn’t get wet. It’s the first moment I considered you a friend.”

The goddess’s feet touched the ground and she stood looking up at Adrien. The blinding light of her eyes dulled to a glowing blue. “Adrien?” she asked and the voice was more familiar this time, not quite Marinette but not the honeyed tone of before.

“Yes,” he nodded vigorously. He reached for one of her hands. She let him take it and watched him turn the wrist over and trace the paw print inked on her skin. His touch was warmth and comfort and home and suddenly there was an explosion of light and the goddess had disappeared and Marinette was standing in front of him.

“Adrien!” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up and spun them around. Marinette made a choked sound and he eased her back down to her feet. Her hands jumped to his chest, pushing away the torn fabric of his shirt. Dried blood was smeared across his skin but there was no wound. Marinette’s fingers danced along the skin, rubbing and prodding. When she looked up at him, her eyes were full of tears.

“You were dead.”

Adrien stared at her in surprise. He looked to Plagg for confirmation and the kwami nodded his head solemnly. 

“I was dead,” Adrien confirmed more to himself than Marinette.

“Arrgh, I am never doing that again,” a voice complained. Jynx’s Plagg rolled out of a nearby bush and came to a stop flat on his back.

Tikki floated out after him, her flight wobbly. Plagg went to her immediately and pulled her down to the ground. “Are you okay?”

“I am now,” she smiled up at him. “You did a good job, kitty.” Plagg melted as Tikki ran a little paw under his chin.

“Violet and Lukas!” Marinette yelled, remembering. She took Adrien’s hand and they jogged through the mouth of the cave. The overwhelming stench of burnt flesh and smoke burned at their noses. When Marinette saw the ashy remains of Deaus and his followers she fell to her knees and vomited.

“Oh, thank God,” Lukas breathed, seeing Marinette’s hunched form. “We thought you were coming back to kill us too.”

“Kill you?” Adrien looked back at them in shock as he rubbed Marinette’s back. She was dry heaving now. His brain didn’t want to process the remains so close to him so he looked further into the cave. Will’s crumpled body was on the cave floor against the far wall. Dark red liquid was slowly oozing out of a slightly turned bowl in what was left of his lap. Adrien took in a sharp breath. “What the hell happened?”

Violet let out a sob. “I sent Plagg to give Marinette my ring so she could harness the power of both. Will was draining her blood and she was going to die and you were dead and I just thought…”

“You were scary,” Lukas admitted. “You looked at Will and he just fell apart. He was dead, just dead, in a blink.”

Marinette sat back on her haunches and wiped her mouth. She could see quick snapshots of what Jynx and Lukas were talking about but her mind wasn’t putting it all together. Maybe that was for the best. The last coherent string of memories she had was watching Chat Noir die in her arms and that had almost killed her.

“We need to get you guys untied,” she said weakly. Adrien took the hint and moved over to the pair.

___________________________

Miraculous relic and extra Ladybug Miraculous collected, the group set out to travel back to the portal in the park. Violet produced a steady stream of tears but stayed silent most of the trip. Lukas kept his arm wrapped around her as they walked. Marinette could hear broken whispers from him when she strained her ears.

Adrien had taken her hand when they started walking and he held it still even though Marinette could feel the sweat slicking her palm. She kept glancing over at him, making sure he was real. She didn’t understand what had happened. She saw him get stabbed through the chest. She saw the light when Plagg could no longer hold the transformation. What had she become that she had the power to bring him back and to destroy the others? She shivered.

“Are you cold?”

“Yes,” she lied.


	7. Seven Little Lies

“We’d like to come with you,” Lukas announced as the group made their way through the park.

“Back to our dimension?” Adrien asked, surprised.

“There’s nothing left for us here. Deaus destroyed everything. We could come with you. Get a new start. Together.” Lukas pulled Violet a little closer as they walked. She didn’t seem to notice. Her head stayed down, concentrating on where her feet were going.

“If that’s what you want,” Marinette replied, her voice toneless. Adrien shot her a worried look.

“We won’t be a bother,” Lukas continued. “As soon as we can get on our feet, we’ll head out. Find our own place.”

“Fine.”

“I think what Marinette means,” Adrien added, his eyes never leaving his partner’s downcast face, “is that we’re happy to help you guys get settled.”

Lukas nodded gratefully.

Tikki and Plagg flew ahead and activated the portal. Master Fu’s den shimmered through the haze of trees. “Here goes nothing,” Adrien said as the group stepped through.

_____________________________

 

“Hey, do you want to talk about it?” Adrien whispered into the darkness. His head rested on the pillow butted up against Marinette’s.

“No,” she lied.

The four heroes were spread out on sleeping pallets on the floor. Marinette had situated herself against the wall away from everyone but Adrien had dragged his bedding over until it was right next to hers.

“Can I talk about it then?”

“We should really get some sleep, Adrien.”

_____________________________

 

“He was dead, Tikki.”

“I know.”

“How is it possible that he is standing over there and talking then?” Marinette watched Adrien smile at something Master Fu said.

“The power of creation and destruction is bigger than any other,” Tikki replied, worriedly watching her charge watch Adrien. “Do you wish he wasn’t here?”

“Of course not,” Marinette lied.

______________________________

 

Violet’s blue eyes were empty as she spoke. “You did what you had to do.”

“I’m still sorry I killed Will,” Marinette lied.

“He wasn’t who I thought he was. He didn’t really love me. I know he was using me. I know I was just a pawn, but…”

“Why did you send me Plagg and the ring?”

Violet looked startled. “So you could save us. I didn’t know it would change you like that, but I thought it was our only chance.”

“So you used me then?” Marinette asked, voice blank.

Violet didn’t respond.

_____________________________

 

“Come on,” Adrien reached a hand down to Marinette. She looked at it but didn’t take it.

“What?”

“Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

“Everyone thinks I’m in the States. I can’t leave,” she responded dully.

“Then we’ll go to the States.”

“You can’t be serious.”

He crouched down so his face was level with hers. “Don’t you want to run away for a bit? Have some time to just relax and breathe?”

“No,” she lied.

“Well, I do. And you’re my partner so you have to come with me.” He blinked big green eyes at her. “I can’t go by myself. What if I get lost?”

Marinette couldn’t stop the small smile that painted her face. “I don’t know my way around. I wouldn’t be any help.”

“Then we’ll get lost together.”

______________________________

 

Master Fu drove the pair to the airport and assured them Paris, Violet and Lukas, and the new Miraculous relic would all be waiting once they came back. When Marinette tried to argue the trip would be a waste of time, Master Fu simply smiled.

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who your are.”

Marinette grumbled and Adrien grinned and grabbed their bags. His blonde hair was pinned up under a dark cap and he wore big aviator sunglasses.

“You practically scream incognito, you know that, right?” Marinette smiled slightly.

“I don’t want anyone to see me. I brought you a disguise too!” Adrien produced a black hat with a neon green paw print embroidered on it. 

“Is that a Chat Noir hat?”

“Isn’t it purr-fect, My Lady?”

“No,” she lied and slipped the cap on her head with a grin.

____________________________

 

“Where are we even going?” Marinette asked when they had settled into their seats.

“I thought about New York or Los Angeles, but I was afraid I might still get recognized,” he admitted guiltily. “I had a model friend who was from South Carolina. She would always talk about this beach there that was corny and kitschy and over the top. She brought me a magnet from this place called the Gay Dolphin once.”

“Is that a strip club or something?”

“Apparently it’s this huge ancient gift shop that is filled with stuff no one has bought in forever. It sounded kind of neat.”

“So we’re going to South Carolina?”

Adrien smiled. “Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

“Why don’t you get some rest? You can use my shoulder as a pillow if you want.”

“I’m not tired,” Marinette lied, pulling out a book.

Adrien sighed.

______________________________

 

After a bit of a ride in a taxi, Adrien and Marinette arrived in front of small beachfront house. The yard was mostly sand with thin grass blades cropping up every little bit. The paint on the house was chipping in places but it looked as kept up as it could be for an old beach shack.

“So this doesn’t exactly look like the pictures,” Adrien said as he opened the door.

The living room was small but clean. A two-seater table could be seen just past the couch and there was a galley kitchen to the side. Two doorways were on the left, one open to a small bathroom and the other to a bedroom.

“Only one bedroom?” Marinette asked.

“Um,” Adrien’s cheeks flushed. “There wasn’t a lot to choose from this late. I took what I could get. Should we look for something else?”

“Yes,” Marinette lied.

Adrien’s eyes widened. “O-okay, right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Let me see if I can—“

Marinette sighed. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore.” She dropped down to the hard couch and buried her face in her hands.

“Do what?” Adrien asked in a small voice.

“I can’t pretend like I’m okay.”

Adrien perched on the couch beside Marinette, hand hovering over her back. “Is this about what happened when I died?”

She looked up at him. “How can you say it like that? You say it like you would say you had a cold or you missed an appointment or something. A minor inconvenience but you got over it.”

“I…I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t feel real to me yet? Or maybe it never will. You brought me back. You saved me. Nothing else really matters.”

“But I shouldn’t have!”

Her words slapped at Adrien’s skin. She shouldn’t have saved him? She should have let him stay dead. No wonder she had been trying to avoid him. She was upset she was still dealing with him. Was he really so blinded by his love for her that he couldn’t even tell how much she disliked him? She didn’t need him as a partner. She needed someone stronger, faster. Someone she wouldn’t need to keep rescuing like some damsel in distress.

“Adrien, that’s not what I meant…”

Tears were flowing down his cheeks now. He couldn’t breathe. She was the one person who meant the world to him and she wished he wasn’t even in it.

Hands were on his face. He could hear his name being called but he couldn’t respond. And then lips were crushing his and he couldn’t breathe. Marinette weaved her hands into his hair and held on tight. After a few moments, she ripped her lips away and kissed the tears on his cheeks and kissed his eyelids and kissed his nose. Adrien sat there dumbly and let her. Marinette’s frantic ministrations finally slowed and she buried her face in his neck.

“I killed for you, Adrien,” she whispered. “I committed mass murder to avenge you. And I would do it all over again—“ Her voice broke into a sob. “And that terrifies me.”

“That wasn’t you—“

“It was me though. I was there. I wasn’t fully in control, but I know I wanted them all dead. They had taken you away from me and I finally had the power to do something about it. Nothing else mattered in that moment.”

“So…you don’t wish I was still dead?”

Marinette reared back to see his face. “Is that what I made you think?” She ran a hand down his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Chaton. I…I hate myself for what I did. Now I know that’s inside me and I don’t know how to deal…part of me died with you.”

She drew in a deep breath. “I thought if I could distance myself from you, I could make things better. I don’t deserve you after what I did…but I don’t want to stay away from you.”

“I don’t want that either,” Adrien responded, nuzzling her neck. He inhaled the scent of her skin. She had never let him this close before. “No more lies, okay? We will talk about anything bothering us and work through it together.”

Marinette nodded. “No more lies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this chapter, we see Marinette trying to deal with the stress of what she did back in the cave in Dunruff. She murdered Will, Deaus, and all of Deaus' followers and she is having a hard time reconciling that with the hero she has seen herself as the past few years. She withdrawals into herself and tries to keep everyone from getting close.
> 
> Adrien wants to get them away from everything and everyone they know. He can tell things aren't good with her and only wants to help, hence the beach trip. In the next couple of chapters, we'll get to see what happens when the two start being completely honest with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! I know this chapter had a lot of set up but it will pay off from here on out. Thanks so much for giving me a chance. :)


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